http://espn.go.com/boxing/story/_/id/14919307/luis-ortiz-victory-help-get-top-opposition
Avtandil Khurtsidze TKO 10 Antoine Douglas
Middleweight
Records: Khurtsidze (32-2-2, 21 KOs); Douglas (19-1-1, 13 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Fast-rising contender Douglas, 23, of Burke, Virginia, was supposed to take on 42-year-old former titleholder Sam Soliman (44-13, 18 KOs), whose best days are way behind him. But Soliman suffered a knee injury and pulled out and Khurtsidze, a superior opponent, took the fight on less than three weeks' notice. It proved to be a very bad decision by Douglas' team to accept him as the opponent. Khurtsidze, 36, a native of Georgia (the former Soviet Republic) who fights out of Brooklyn, New York, extended his winning streak to nine fights in a row with a bruising performance in which he doled out such extensive punishment to Douglas that his career may be altered forever.
The 5-foot-4 Khurtsidze, who has not lost since a decision to Hassan N'Dam in an interim world title bout in 2010, bulled forward from the start laid a beating on Douglas, who got no assistance from his cornermen, who should be ashamed of themselves for not protecting their fighter and stopping the fight sooner.
Khurtsidze knocked Douglas down for the first time in his career with a left hand early in the third round, sending him face first through the ropes. Douglas rallied to win the fourth and fifth rounds in the highly entertaining bout before Khurtsidze opened the seventh with a huge left hand that floored Douglas again. A fading Douglas took enormous punishment in the 10th round as Khurtsidze blasted away until referee Benjy Esteves finally stopped it at 33 seconds with Douglas defenseless against the ropes.
"I knew he was going to get tired," Khurtsidze said. "I felt like I was going to catch him. He's a good fighter, but he's not strong. I knew he was going to be hungry. But I also knew that I was going to beat him. It was short notice but I did everything I could in the time we had. I stayed in the gym and stayed sharp. Whoever they put in front me, I'm ready for them. I love fighting. I'll fight anybody."
Douglas, who spent the night in the hospital for observation, said, "I feel OK. He definitely dictated. He definitely had a better day today. It's not discouraging, we just weren't able to execute. Naturally, I'm crushed. It's back to the drawing board."
